Constructive women

Sunday, 18 March 2018

News from Cannes this week that after years of nurturing its
reputation as the alcohol and testosterone fuelled event of the international property
calendar, the organisers of MIPIM decided to issue a code of conduct for the
hosts and delegates flocking to the week-long real estate conference with its
fun filled activities on beaches, boats, ballrooms and barstools. Reed
Midem repeatedly warned delegates to respect all individuals and, astonishingly,
reminded the 25,000 attendees that “under no circumstances does MIPIM register
prostitutes.”

Attending the shindig as a woman has long been recognised as
challenging at best and intimidating at worst, with groups including the
Association of Women in Property offering survival guides and seminars to its
members. Some companies recognise the hazards and try to support
female staff. Some women have simply decided not to participate at all,
regardless of the perceived impact of not being seen on la croisette. Women
including internationally acclaimed architect Amanda Levete CBE for example,
who said last month when receiving the Jane Drew prize, “I went to MIPIM once
and decided that I would never go again.”

The timing of MIPIM 2018 made it inevitable that the
spotlight would fall on its misogynistic reputation. After months of uproar on
both sides of the Atlantic over the intimidation and harassment of women in the
workplace (Weinstein, Trump, gender pay audits, resignations and accusations in
politics and business etc), it was the Presidents’ Club at the Dorchester in
London in January that finally made the UK property industry face up to its
reputation. As Chris Grigg, chief executive of the UK’s second-biggest property
company British Land said, the Presidents Club scandal had revealed the “sleazy
underbelly” of the industry and businesses needed to do more to banish
unacceptable behaviour and promote diversity and inclusion.

MIPIM took place just a week after an International Women’s
Day that was celebrated with particular enthusiasm following months of protest
over treatment of women in the workplace around the world combined with the
100th Anniversary of women in Britain first gaining the right to vote.

Encouragingly, for an industry claiming to have so few women
in its workforce (and certainly one that seems to have difficulty finding them
when it comes to jobs in top management and on boards) there were a heck of a
lot of women in construction and property making themselves both visible and
audible over the past few weeks. From the 500 who gathered to hear Crown
Estate’s Alison Nimmo on 14 February at Women leading real estate, to the crowd that
turned up for the Opening
Doors diversity conference organised by the British Property
Federation and Revo on 19 February, to the Inspire Me roundtable organised by Construction News on
1 March, when more than 80 women and men braved the Beast from the East for an
8.00am Monday start.

(Note to the St James Sofitel and other smart London hotels:
businesswomen need somewhere to sit down whilst they swap their rugged
weather boots for smart shoes.)

And that’s before the week of events, conferences and the social mediafest that marked International Women’s Day itself. Never
before have so many women engineers, contractors, architects, surveyors,
planners, housebuilders, crane operators, scaffolders, lawyers, accountants,
developers made their presence so confidently and positively felt. There was
even a woman civil engineer on Question Time – Roma Agrawal, of Aecom. Just two
weeks earlier, we learned that Rachel Skinner of WSP will become not only one
of the youngest Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers in its 200
year history, but the second woman ever to take on the role.

Rachel Skinner, ICE President Elect

So it is difficult to believe that the female percentage
across construction and property remains so stubbornly around 15% (although
figures are tricky and it varies across the disciplines), but perhaps it simply
confirms my view that we should talk numbers of women, not percentages. After
all, in such a large sector, even 15% represents an impressive number of
individual women.

So what are the memorable comments that came out of this
focus on women in the workplace? It was great to see and hear from a growing
number of men both on the platform and in the audience at the various events
and here's a selection.

Paul Brundage, President of the British Property Federation,
described the President’s Club debacle as an incident that could take the
property sector back decades, not to mention the personal embarrassment at
explaining what had happened to his teenage daughter when she asked if that was
the sort of thing he did. “We have a long way to go,” he said, adding, “It
might be behind us for the moment, but we must not hide behind it.”

Brian Bicknell, of Shaftestbury Estates, who highlighted the
problems created by Unconscious Bias and the need to campaign in a different
way, “through persuasion rather than shouting.” Persistence too, he said,
remembering the resistance to his organisation Freehold when first proposed,
but now well established.

Alison Nimmo CBE, of Crown Estates, who after telling her
audience that the worst boss she ever had couldn’t make decisions, advised
them, “Trust your own judgment and just get on with stuff.”

Siobhan McKenna, of the GLA, talked about the Mayor’s
commitment to sorting the gender pay gap and, as a mother of three, recognized
the challenge that for many women, the cost of childcare can make it difficult
to make working affordable.

Beth West, who has recently joined Land Securities as Head
of Development London Portfolio from HS2, talked about the importance of
understanding the politics of work and how at first, she found the macho
behaviour tough. Despite progress, there is still bad behaviour. “A wise person
once told me that a corporate culture is the worst behaviour that the CEO will
allow,” she says. “So if you’re a C-suite executive, don’t allow the bad
behaviour.”

And talking of CEOs, Juliette Stacey of Mabey Holdings shares
my long held belief that the changes needed to encourage more women in
construction are the changes that will benefit everyone. “Working
practices have been so poor that it’s no wonder many skilled people chose not
to return to our sector after the last recession, exacerbating today’s skill
shortage,” she says. “Bringing more women into our sector, and ensuring they
progress into more senior positions, will be essential if construction is to
transform into a better and stronger sector.”

Juliette Stacey, CEO Mabey

Juliette generated a gasp from her Inspire Me audience
when recounting how only one man in the boardroom could look her in the eye
when she was made CEO. That was only two years ago, but judging by the momentum
that is being generated throughout the industry, we may be reaching a “Get over
it moment’ for those who don’t believe a woman’s place is at the top of
construction or property company.

So what about practical help? Here are some tips.

* mentoring schemes for women at all levels plus reverse
mentoring for middle and senior management

* insistence on recruitment companies and headhunters
broadening their search for women candidates

* make the most of your NEDs – they should be the critical
friends who help change the culture.

And when it comes to that gender pay gap? Back in 1996, the
first recommendation in my report Tomorrow's team: women and men in construction was
that the construction industry should lead the way by establishing equal pay
for work of equal value. It’s not too late, chaps.

Saturday, 17 February 2018

Women's economic
empowerment -
how the private sector is engaging

Illuminating, shocking and persuasive – a morning spent on 30 November 2017 at Chatham House,
The Royal Institute of International Affairs, listening to Professor Linda
Scott, Emeritus DP Professor for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Said
Business School, University of Oxford. It was the launch of her powerfully
argued and beautifully presented report Private sector engagement with women’s economic empowerment:
lessons learned from years of practice.

Facts such as women carrying out 50% of the world farming,
but many not getting paid at all (it is their family duty) and many of those
who do, not receiving the money. The challenges of obtaining finance when
father or husband do not allow them to obtain an identity card. The lack of
channels for getting goods to market - and the money earned for producing it.
As Professor Scott said, "The pattern of gender inequality can be seen
from space."

But there was good news too, with representatives of multi
national companies speaking about empowerment initiatives around the world and
how these might be scaled up and replicated. Companies including WalMart, Coca
Cola, Goldman Sachs, Qualcomm, Exxon Mobil and PWC. Initiatives that have been
developed that balance cultural sensitivities with economic imperatives
(stabilising supplies of endangered crops such as chocolate and coffee for
example), utilising IT and mobile phones to improve communications, health
programmes. A great speaker with welcome touches of humour, Professor Scott
succinctly dealt with the myriad of questions and interventions from the floor,
ably chaired to maximise the debating time by Chatham House Director, Robin
Niblett.

All in all, an excellent morning. But sadly, no examples
from construction and engineering despite the clear role in the social value of
infrastructure. So now to read that report in detail and see opportunities for
contribution. More later.

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About Me

Compulsive builder and advocate for construction and engineering, and in particular the role of women, Sandi Rhys Jones has nearly forty years experience in strategic marketing and management, communications and training for technical, professional and business to business organisations.
Since co-founding RhysJones Consultants in 1976, she has worked for a wide range of clients, including consultants, contractors, suppliers, representative organisations, local and national government.
As well as running her business she is a non executive director of EngineeringUK and leads the national mentoring programme for the Association of Women in Property. She is increasingly in demand as a coach and mentor, particularly for women in non-traditional occupations, and also as a chair and facilitator at conferences, workshops and seminars. The Constructive Women blog draws on her working life.
Parallel Universe reflects the other side - wife, mother, grandmother, cook, gardener, traveller, music lover.